On day three of the Colorado wildfires, Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa told the Wednesday morning press conference that law enforcement and safety experts learned many lessons from last year’s Waldo Canyon Fire. On the media side, there were lessons learned and applied as well.

One is, disregard the inevitable minority of vocal viewers who would rather have golf or ice hockey or “Ellen” on the screen during a local crisis. Denver TV stations dutifully cleared hours of network news and entertainment programming in order to bring dramatic coverage of the wildfires to area viewers. Another is, tiptoe as close to the action as possible without directly disobeying officials. Marshall Zelinger of 7News proved effective at documenting, live, where he was standing in dicey instances so there was no mistake.

Also, while TV news often paints with a broad brush, the little details matter. “Evacuation area boundaries, “mandatory” versus “standby” evacuation, wind direction and wind speed, humidity levels… these details are literally a matter of life and death for our viewers,” CBS4 New Director Tim Wieland said. Real-time reporting is the norm now: 9News chief Patti Dennis said streaming press conferences and use of other “live technology” to take viewers to the story in real time, is mandatory.

While CNN is considered a go-to source for breaking news and a politically safe middle ground, the network hasn’t had a proper morning show to attract viewers when the world isn’t in panic mode.

“New Day” aims to be that flagship, premiering Monday 6-9 a.m. ET (locally 4-7 a.m., before the network morning show competitors even start).

From the sound of it, “New Day” is going to look more like a chatty network kaffeklatsch than a cable news flash.

The cast claims to share an authentic intimacy and friendship: Chris Cuomo, formerly of “Good Morning America,” was hired in January specifically to head “New Day.” Co-anchor Kate Bolduan previously was a Washington correspondent for CNN, now working out of New York on the morning show. And Michaela Pereira, on the right in above photo assemblage, formerly an anchor at KTLA, joins them as news reader.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.